Touring with the Wallabies beats toiling away in the mines but Josh Mann-Rea doesn’t want to just make up the numbers in Europe.

The 33-year-old hooker became Australia’s oldest debutant in 56 years when he came off the bench against Argentina in Mendoza last month.

He had another brief stint against the All Blacks before earning a call-up to the spring tour squad in remarkable late-career twist for a player who almost quit rugby last year to return to his former job as a coal miner.

The Brumbies forward is yet to play under Michael Cheika and will find it tough to break into the side for remaining games against France, Ireland and England, but he’s working hard push for selection.

“This is probably something I wouldn’t have thought I’d be doing at the start of the year but everyone wants to play,” Mann-Rea said on Tuesday.

“I’m not here just to make up numbers.

“I want to show what I’ve got and there’s no better thing than playing and representing and your country and family.

“I’m trying to put my best foot forward in training and that’s all I can do.”

Mann-Rea was drafted into Wallabies camp last month as the ninth-choice hooker following a crisis of availability of fit No.2s.

It capped a remarkable comeback for the former Australian junior, who admits to wasting chances earlier in his career.

Mann-Rea turned to working as a coal miner near Wollongong to support his family before returning to the spot in 2007.

After joining the Brumbies on minimum wage in 2013, a pre-season knee injury meant he considered a return to his former job but his perseverance is now paying off.

As the third-string hooker on tour behind Saia Fainga’a and James Hanson, injuries may represent his best shot at game time but, regardless, he’s relishing a chance to part of the new Wallabies era under Cheika.

“It’s great to be coached by new coaches and see the way they operate,” said Mann-Rea, who was last in Paris with the Australia under-19s squad almost 15 years ago.

“Getting to train with the best players in the country and the best coaches, it’s been great.”